A good gym will have the right environment for the most intense workouts.

With the New Year well on its way, you have your diet principles, a few healthy recipes and a killer chest routine. Now you just need to find a gym to meet your needs. If you’re serious about training and looking to unlock your potential you won’t be training at a Planet Fitness; you need a Jack3d Approved gym and I will tell you what you need to look for in a gym before you sign your name on some page 50, section B line 12.

10 Essential Aspects of a Jacked Approved Gym

With two scoops of USPlabs Jack3d running through your system, a mundane, casual gym is exactly where you don’t want to find yourself. No, you need a different breed of gym. Below are the 10 essential aspects I look for when signing up for a new gym. I’ll use my own gym, the Elite Performance Center in Portland, Oregon, as a reference. I will break each aspect down to its own paragraph so grab a note book and get ready to take some notes.

Powerlifter friendly – Being a powerlifter myself, it is critical to find a gym that will allow you to train like an animal. Lifting heavy is the best way to add size and mass – I would argue these two points are the key goals for most male lifters and countless females I know as well. Powerlifters are a different breed and I have been asked to tone it down on more than one occasion when I am at other commercial, hotel, and college gyms. I tend to load enough weight to bend bars, leave a chalk residue, and my “grunting” disturbs that person reading a magazine on the stationary bike.

All Jack3d-Approved Gyms:

Competitors/Competition – Each member at Elite Performance Center (well 99.9%) completes in local, regional and world competitions, we have a very diverse group of Elite level lifters. The benefit of having athletes like this where you train is essential to me because it provides a well of knowledge to tap, a TEAM based environment that is unparalleled and being around other driven lifters will make you a better/more knowledgeable lifter.

A bit Dirty/Grungy – If you walk in and don’t choke from the chalk filling the air as a lifter claps his/hers hands and rips 700lbs off the ground you might want to turn around. I prefer this greeting over a sweat towel. Sanitation is important to me, but if you are constantly worried about sweating too much, smelling bad- it doesn’t allow you to “go hard” in the gym, especially if you have to wipe, spray down, and re-wipe every weight you touch. When I describe Elite Performance Center I usually say, it’s like the “Rocky Balboa gym” – it isn’t filthy but you can see that we put in work; floors have chalk residue, concrete on one side for sled pulls, mats on the other side with the occasional sweat angel, huge tires that will leave you black… this is how I like it, and wouldn’t have it another way.

A Good Music Selection – When you are attempting a PR (personal record/best) you don’t want The Jonas Brothers coming onto the radio. No, that doesn’t fly. There is a time and place for every type of music. I love every kind of music, but when I am in the gym training to train like a freak I need music to get me Jack3d. At Elite, for instance, we play all kinds of music but when the team is in for a Max Effort session the estrojams playlist is off and Metal/rock is playing full volume. Bands such as Metallica, Slipnot, FiveFinger Death Punch, Disturbed, Inflames and a few rappers who meet our needs such as Eminem and Tech9 fill the air.

Plenty of Squat Racks and Benches – How many times have you gone to a gym where there hasn’t even been a bench? Or if there is, it would crumble if you actually put some weight on it? Squat racks and bench presses as well as a dead lift platform should be the staple to any gym, anything else is extra. Those three lifts are the primary and core lifts for a reason and should be in your weekly training routine to maximize your gains/results and to be a complete athlete. At Elite each bench and squat rack (mono lifts) are hand made by Chris, a powerlifter for powerlifters.

From the Torrance Powerhouse

Real Deal Personal Trainers – Personal trainers are truly important for achieving a higher level of success in the gym. Everyone has a coach, a trainer or team they learn from; the problem with commercial chain gyms is that their knowledge is limited, and they are sadly forced to try and sell you every supplement under the sun to meet their quotas. At Elite Performance, when you join you are more than welcome to join a team training session – they will teach you how to train, adapt and overcome any situation. The coaches teach us how to train so that we don’t need them to hold our hands every session. This very rare quality- there isn’t a money to be had in offering this service; it is included with the monthly gym fees. We do, however, have a few certified trainers who have worked at commercial gyms and bring their clients in to train. These trainers are sometimes available for hire. When looking for a trainer I suggest drilling them on their background (education, how they train, etc.). For example – people who I train with like Adrian, Chris, and Jeff are all record holders who understand the mindset and drive, and are motivated and extremely knowledgeable about the body’s mechanics and nutrition needs.

Price – When looking for a gym price can play a large role. A gym membership can run from $10-$100+ a month, so you want to make sure you are getting quality for your hard earned money. Most gyms I have been to are about $40-$50 a month. Don’t fall for schemes with a cheap introduction price where they secretly raise your dues each month.

Not a Chain – Many chain/commercial gyms won’t cut it for a Jack3d approved gym because they appeals to those who want to go to the gym for a fashion show. Commercial gyms also have “set rules” that they often rudely enforce. I still have a 24hr gym membership I go to 1-2 a week for some cardio and assistance work when I cannot make it to a team training session or when the work/school week is rough on me. But I cannot get the same level of intensity there are as I do at Elite without countless stares and trainers asking me to “tone it down a bit.” But Mike wanted to mention that there is an exception: Venice Beach, CA. After all, that is the Mecca for bodybuilders.

No Yoga/Pilates/Zumba – These forms of exercise have their time and place but as I stated before when Jack3d is running through your veins, doing Yoga is wrong. In addition, getting hit by a person running to their class because they are late is also very annoying, not to mention distracting.

Special Equipment – All Jack3d approved gyms need a few special tools of the trade to be a complete gym. My favorite must haves are: bands, chains, dead lift platforms/jack, tires, kegs, sledge hammers, sleds, Texas Power Bars, chalk, Olympic rings and plenty of squat racks and bench presses. You also need to have the right people around you who are friendly – most members of Elite Performance I consider an extended part of my family. We have developed very personal friendships, yet when it is training time they help push me past my limits. A gym is a second home for me, a place to go and smash some weights and get overly intense. But at the end of the day we are all there to establish lifelong healthy habits and make deeper connections, to better ourselves.

The next time you take two scoops of Jack3d, make sure you are training at a Jack3d approved gym.

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